Feeding George The Groper

Last updated on 05/01/2018 By Alyson Long11 Comments Any post on this site may contain affiliate links. If you use them, they cost you nothing extra. We make a small commission.

Want to know what’s top of my ” Things to do in Port Douglas” list? Well, I always say that feeding George the groper is the most exciting thing that happens in Port Douglas. It’s certainly not something you should miss if you are in the top right hand corner of Queensland or visiting Port for our beaches, rainforest and Great Barrier Reef access. It’s a daily, late afternoon event that locals and tourists in Far North Queensland have been enjoying for many years, come on down to On The Inlet and take a seat for feeding time.

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This is what happens when a very big fish wants feeding.

It happens every day, it’s family friendly, you can have a couple of glasses of wine and a bite to eat, you’re out of the sun or the rain, it’s educational and best of all, it’s FREE!

Don’t Miss Feeding George the Groper in Port Douglas

George the groper is fed every day and it’s a tradition that has been going on for 30 years in Port Douglas. It started when the fishing boats dumped anything unwanted into Dickson Inlet. These days the ritual takes place in a more orderly fashion at On The Inlet restaurant and bar, which stands on the same site as the old fishing wharf.

A suitably muscled staff member makes his way to the jetty at 5pm, armed with tuna carcasses and a stout rope ready to take on the giant fish. Much jiggling of rope goes on before George the groper takes a bite, the rope goes tight and shoots off in unpredictable directions. The guy on the end does his best to hang on and draw the fish to the surface, sometimes we get a good look, sometimes there is just a lot of splashing.

Today’s groper wrangler was recovering from a cracked rib, inflicted by George as he was pulled hard against the railings. It can be quite a fight.

The fish always wins, nobody is trying to hurt the groper, it’s just a bit of a show.

Groper or Grouper

Around these parts they are always called gropers. Giant Queensland Gropers, also known as spotted cod, are the biggest reef fish in the world. They grow up to 3m long and can weigh in at 600Kg. Fatal attacks on humans have been reported, so if you go for a swim in Dickinson Inlet and the crocodiles don’t get you, watch out for George the groper.

George or Georgina? She is a Girl

The gropers you will see in the inlet will all be girls. The species is hermaphrodite, the small males live out on the reef before returning to the inlet as females at over 1.5m long. They are big enough to take on the salt water crocodiles that share the estuary. It’s not uncommon to see 2 or 3 fish at the daily feeding session, along with many smaller species, angler fish, bream, trevally and sting ray were there today.

It’s Free to See George Being Fed

Technically it’s free, but you are in a bar serving bar food so it would be bad manners to not indulge. On The Inlet is a great restaurant in the evening, in the afternoon they serve drinks and a good selection of bar snacks. It’s a lovely spot to enjoy the end of the day and watch the reef boats come in before the feeding frenzy.

Get there early! You need to have a ringside seat, it gets incredibly busy. We always aim for 4pm, at the latest.

We were there just before 4pm. I’ve never seen it this empty, it was a rainy day in the off season but we saw two gropers

Early Dinner in Port Douglas, Great for Children

When you are travelling with children it’s often irritating that restaurants don’t open before 5.30 or 6pm. On The Inlet serves all afternoon and children are welcome. There are no children’s meals as such, but my boys are very happy with their battered fish, chips and salad ($12). It’s pricey, but they rarely eat the whole lot, Mum and Dad can share.

We always order the bucket of prawns, for $16 it comes with a glass of wine or a beer and everybody can amuse themselves throwing the shells to the waiting fish. The fish tacos and chili lime calamari are really good, too.

Children may struggle to sit and wait quietly for the big event, but the prawn shells go a long way towards making parents’ lives easier.

Tip: feed your prawn shells to the waiting fish, it keeps the children happy!

So, go, see a great big fish, I promise you, it is incredible, he, or she is ENORMOUS. If you’ve got a thing about big fish I’d also recommend driving to Cooktown, we once saw a groper as big as a minibus hanging out under the jetty up there. You may see gropers or groupers snorkeling on The Great Barrier Reef, but I’ve only ever seen a fish of this size when I was diving the Yongala, out of Magnetic Island.

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I forgot to show you a picture of George the groper, here he ( she) is. She often hangs around in the shallows before or after feeding, today there were three fish there but the water was a bit murky from the rain. It’s hard to judge size from the picture, but this fish is almost 3m long.

Smile for the camera George!

Anybody else seen George the groper being fed? Did you like it as much as me? I’m a sucker for fish.

About Alyson Long

Alyson Long is the creator of World Travel Family travel blog. A lifetime of wanderlust and now over 5 years on the road, full time, has made her a travel expert. She is lover of mountains, cultures and ancient civilisations. Fanatical mum obsessed with her kids' education and happiness. Family travel, travel with kids, adventure travel, homeschooling and worldschooling enthusiast. Former medical scientist, now published writer, SEO ninja and webmaster. Very happy nomad so long as there is coffee.

Sorry Rob, I can’t think of any long this stripey fish. We see loads of archer fish there, they’re stripey, but not baracuda shaped. We’ve caught barracuda when we’ve been fishing on the inlet, so they are about, if stripeless.

This George was a little smaller than the car-sized gropers we’ve seen at Cooktown jetty and while scuba diving, but it was still MASSIVE! There are actually several ” Georges” that come to On The Inlet at feeding time, various sizes.

Was it a groper or a Maori Wrasse Kieron? All the reef boats have pet Maori Wrasse, I know one called Angus, the big blue ones that are really tame, big gropers are pretty unusual out there. The groper I saw on the Yongala was called V Dub, because he was that big, scary big! They said he once swallowed a scuba diver’s head, thinking the blonde hair was a jellyfish, probably. I think he spat it out again. Angus is here http://worldtravelfamily.com/great-big-fish-meets-two-little-fish-great-barrier-reef/

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